Islam: A Comprehensive Introduction

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (b. 1951) is a well-known Islamic scholar of Pakistan. He is the founder and the current president of al-Mawrid, A Foundation for Islamic Research and Education (www.al-mawrid.org). He is also the chief editor of the Urdu Monthly €œIshraq€ (www.ghamidi.net) and the English Monthly €œRenaissance€ (www.monthly-renaissance.com). He has written and lectured widely on Islam. Besides making some original contributions to the Islamic thought, he has drawn heavily on the Qur€anic thought of his two illustrious predecessors, Hamid al-Din Farahi (1862-1930) and Amin Ahsan Islahi (1904-1997).

Islam: A Comprehensive Introduction (Urdu title: Mizan) is an extensive study of the contents of Islam by the author. It is an effort which spans almost two decades of both creative and critical thinking. The entire endeavour is a fresh interpretation of Islam from its original sources. In his own opinion, the reason that he has undertaken it is that interpretation of sacred texts is a human endeavour and since this can never remain fault free, the process should never discontinue. It is as a result of this principle that the author has continued to evaluate and re-evaluate even his own findings.